Scriptures Do Not Tattoo For Jesus
It is quite popular these days to have a tattoo. It is not unusual even for people professing faith in Christ to have tattoos. Some Christians, however, have a problem with this. The issue came up recently at a Bible study my daughter attends, so I decided that a Fact Sheet on the subject was timely. Do the Scriptures prohibit tattoos for Christians?
In a word, "No." I realize that many fundamentalist and legalistic groups professing Christ will disagree with me on this (what else is new?), but the fact is, the Scriptures do not forbid Christians to have tattoos. Those disagreeing with me on this will no doubt cite various Scriptures to support their point of view, so let's have a look at some of the Bible verses they use as proof texts …show more content…
As the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia puts it, "Here the practice [of tattooing] is associated with mourning rites for the dead and is forbidden as a heathen practice." [ISBE Vol. IV, page739] The ancient occupants of Canaan would make marks in their skin, either by incision or by burning the flesh to appease their "gods," or, as Matthew Henry puts it, "to pacify the infernal deities they dreamt of, and to render them propitious to their deceased friends." The Good News Bible in Today's English Version even renders this verse to show that both cutting the flesh and tattooing here apply to mourning rituals: "or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the …show more content…
Regardless of the historical/cultural reason behind it, this verse commands Christians not to get tattoos." Actually, that's not true. This verse does not command Christians to reject tattoos as unacceptable. This verse was a part of the Old Covenant given by God through Moses to the Israelites. It applied only to a specific period of Jewish history: from the time of the giving of this covenant at Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:2-3) until the covenant was "made obsolete" and "taken away" by the sacrifice of Christ (Hebrew 8:13; 10:9-10). The commands of the Hebrew Scriptures, therefore, are stipulations of covenant requirements, a covenant Gentiles were never under, a covenant that has been set aside as "old" for the sake of the "new" covenant in Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13). If an Old Covenant command is not repeated in the New, then it is not binding upon the
In a word, "No." I realize that many fundamentalist and legalistic groups professing Christ will disagree with me on this (what else is new?), but the fact is, the Scriptures do not forbid Christians to have tattoos. Those disagreeing with me on this will no doubt cite various Scriptures to support their point of view, so let's have a look at some of the Bible verses they use as proof texts …show more content…
As the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia puts it, "Here the practice [of tattooing] is associated with mourning rites for the dead and is forbidden as a heathen practice." [ISBE Vol. IV, page739] The ancient occupants of Canaan would make marks in their skin, either by incision or by burning the flesh to appease their "gods," or, as Matthew Henry puts it, "to pacify the infernal deities they dreamt of, and to render them propitious to their deceased friends." The Good News Bible in Today's English Version even renders this verse to show that both cutting the flesh and tattooing here apply to mourning rituals: "or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the …show more content…
Regardless of the historical/cultural reason behind it, this verse commands Christians not to get tattoos." Actually, that's not true. This verse does not command Christians to reject tattoos as unacceptable. This verse was a part of the Old Covenant given by God through Moses to the Israelites. It applied only to a specific period of Jewish history: from the time of the giving of this covenant at Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:2-3) until the covenant was "made obsolete" and "taken away" by the sacrifice of Christ (Hebrew 8:13; 10:9-10). The commands of the Hebrew Scriptures, therefore, are stipulations of covenant requirements, a covenant Gentiles were never under, a covenant that has been set aside as "old" for the sake of the "new" covenant in Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13). If an Old Covenant command is not repeated in the New, then it is not binding upon the